Review: Another Little Piece - Kate Karyus Quinn

Where I got it: ARC from AmazonVine
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (Love it.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 422 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Annaliese has been missing for a year when she stumbles into someone's lawn. She doesn't remember anything about herself but her parents are glad to have her back. Something is a bit different about Annaliese though. It isn't just her memories that are missing. She's not sure why she feels so strange, but the bits and pieces coming back to her don't help at all. The things she starts to remember make her wish she could forget all over again. Everyone is trying to find the monster that did this to her, but  maybe they are looking for the wrong beast...

So the one bad thing I have to say about this novel is that it wasn't nearly scary enough. All the promotion made it out to be really terrifying but mostly it was just mysterious. It was a really great mystery though. It wasn't just a regular whodunit either. It was far more complicated than that. It was a bit like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Annaliese had no memories and so no idea who she was or what had happened to her. The things that she did know didn't really make any sense to her.

I really enjoyed the new Annaliese. She was very interesting to watch. She's in a strange situation that few people will ever experience in part. Being missing for a year and then having no memories is tricky. People didn't really believe that she didn't remember anything. That has to be hard. Except, you don't know any of the people, so you don't probably care too much about what they think of you.

I really liked when the novel started to take a huge turn to the strange. As soon as more details and memories came back to Annaliese I had a great time trying to piece them all together for her.

I liked the other characters too and they kind of made me wonder if there will be a sequel, or a sort of companion novel. I would be very interested to a prequel to these events too. We are briefly introduced to the past, but I could totally have gone for more.

Lately I guess I've just been wanting more details about all aspects of the novels I've been reading. They are good and so I just don't want to let them go. I want to stay inside the story forever exploring other places within it.

This book kept me guessing about some things until the end and I would really recommend it if you are looking for a great mystery. There's plenty of strangeness to make it a bit different from your average mystery.

First Line:
"The field didn't end so much as trail off, beaten back by the rusted-out trailer and circle of junked vehicles surrounding it. "

Favorite Line:
"'Sometimes it really is just someone's time and it can be quiet and peaceful and...it still makes your heart ache, but the way it does when you see the sun rising on a cold winter morning, pushing its way up above the bare tree branches, and you try to capture it on camera, but it's not the same, it doesn't—it can never—do it justice.'"